Matt Lloyd fired by OPL

[L'arriviste]

Just did a quick check. Lloyd did not make it through Pais Vasco. He must have DNS'd the final time trial.

EDIT: That is actually mentioned in the CN story, sorry.

 

[Sylvester]

At least this

a brilliant team who’ve given me the opportunity to once again step it up a notch in order to remain directly driven towards the event I anticipate the most- The Giro D’Italia..

is clear sarcasm.

It's a pity. He's one of the few Australian riders I like a lot.

 

[ergmonkey]

Anybody checked the police reports in the areas where he raced this season? "Behavioral issues" could conceivably be drunken disorderly contact, public fighting, harassing people, that sort of thing...

 

[hfer07]

ok- neither was dope, nor was a contract dispute............
was he hanging out with Andy Schleck late night or perhaps was he caught visiting Amsterdam's red zone lately or what?

 

[hrotha]

Has anyone read older entries (as old as possible) of his to see how they compare to the Catalonia post? I'd do it myself, but I've grown quite attached to my own sanity.

 

[Ryaguas]

He must have punched someone in OPL... this is totally weird...
today was a pretty active day... raids in Italy
ML kicked from OPL
Cadel injured
etc...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It could be many other things though. He could have been refusing to show to team meetings and training sessions, arguing and abusing teammates and staff behind the scenes, or anything.

It needn't be anything that's requiring the law or some horrendous and morally disagreeable act, it could just be an irreconcilable professional dispute. As long as all we're going on is Lotto saying it's not PEDs and some cryptic blog postings, all we're doing is playing chess blindfolded.

 

[theyoungest]

It could be many other things though. He could have been refusing to show to team meetings and training sessions, arguing and abusing teammates and staff behind the scenes, or anything.

It needn't be anything that's requiring the law or some horrendous and morally disagreeable act, it could just be an irreconcilable professional dispute. As long as all we're going on is Lotto saying it's not PEDs and some cryptic blog postings, all we're doing is playing chess blindfolded.

Maybe they didn't like his new hair?

 

[Altitude]

Does this make sense to anyone?

He's like Elefantino without the talent or charisma.

 

[BroDeal]

Does this make sense to anyone?

It reads like he has been using non-performance enhancing drugs.

 

[JRTinMA]

ML is Kurtz

Wow, who knew that Cobblestoned was ML? We always wanted to get a rider on the forum.

When you read ML's blog, read it to yourself as if you were Walter E Kurtz (Brando) in the end of Apocalypse Now. It makes much more sense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqjQG-Tw9FY&feature=related

 

[BroDeal]

can any aussies translate this

When god was handing out brains he got the rough end of the pineapple.

 

[clipperton]

lloyd's always been a bit of a deep thinker compared to most athletes. while this blog post is certainly more cryptic and rambling than what i've seen in the past he's not above writing pretty deep. i recall an article he had published in ride mag about 3 years ago that was a full page on the experience of being in an elevator.
at once saddened about this but also glad to see him out of opl.

 

[The Hitch]

Stupid Matthew Lloyd, getting his azz fired when he's supposed to be winning lots of points for my CQ team

Thats the nature of the cq game. You have to leave no stone unturned. You should have been reading his blog and predicted he would get kicked off.

 

[therhodeo]

He could just be an insufferable ******* that no one wanted to work with.

 

[Benotti69]

When god was handing out brains he got the rough end of the pineapple.

If you're ever in doubt, throw a pepper in the air. If it fails to come down, you have gone mad, so don't trust in anything.

- Gregory Maguire

 

[Libertine Seguros]

He could just be an insufferable ******* that no one wanted to work with.

Well, Cadel Evans still has a team...

 

[thehog]

Matt has depression. Let him be. He needs to find himself before riding again. He's being paid and supported.

 

[greenedge]

Two words: GREEN EDGE

Yes i hope so. But i can envisage him going to BMC to be with Cadel. That way we cannot say Cadel will not have support in the GT's as he has a solid cadre in Phinney, Hincapie and Ballan already. He will get picked up but by whom? It's a case of Luke Roberts getting into SBS because he knew Riis.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Hincapie is old. Phinney is not going to help in the mountains. Ballan can help but is hardly an elite climber. Lloyd was there at Silence Lotto back in the days when Evans was complaining about not having any support.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Matt has depression. Let him be. He needs to find himself before riding again. He's being paid and supported.

+1 He needs to get better first.

Given cycling's track record on looking after riders with mental health problems I am pretty pessimistic.

 

[mewmewmew13]

For his own sake let's hope he stops posting. Painful to see. I had to laugh about Libertine's ref to Jim Morrison, but it would not be great to see him deconstruct in public.
Hope someone gives him a hand from the team...

 

[Christian]

I wonder if Lloyd put that on his website himself or whether he has someone who does it for him ... if so that person could have tried to tell him not to do it or at least make it sound somewhat comprehensible

 

[BroDeal]

Things could get worse. He could hire Martin Hardie as his "advisor."

 

[joe_papp]

Matt has depression. Let him be. He needs to find himself before riding again. He's being paid and supported.

Are you being serious or just speculating?

+1 He needs to get better first.

Given cycling's track record on looking after riders with mental health problems I am pretty pessimistic.

Yeah it's not an easy beast to tame; less so when one's support network isn't extensive. Sounds like that might not be the case here though (ie, he has access to care and support)?

It's easy when one has a blog and even a modest audience to want to open-up about personal challenges and situations that otherwise might not be sporting fodder...but at the same time you don't want to be totally raw and so code the message. Then everyone just ends up confused or bored (or so my readers tell me).